Perfect Storm of new overused words in '07

[jsinger]

"CHICAGO (Reuters) - A "surge" of overused words and phrases formed a "perfect storm" of "post-9/11" cliches in 2007, according to a U.S. university's annual list of words and phrases that deserve to be banned"

My vote goes to "Back in the day." Heard it everywhere this past year.

"And finally, any self-respecting writer would groan at being labeled a "word smith" who engages in "word smithing," the list-makers said.

[Marcia]

long tail

There's nothing new or long about it and it has no tail. Back in the day it was called themes (we can find threads from 2000 about it). But that's how the cookie crumbles, and at the end of the day there will be a new name for it.

Oh yeah! There already is: LSI Optimization. Oh well, whatever floats your boat.

[Habtom]

The number of troops ...

Wait, isn't 'troop' a group of soliders?

[phranque]

i agree with the troops usage.
it is intentionally depersonalizing.
i've never met a troop...

[Habtom]

'the come back kid' should be in the list of '08 :)

[custom404]

Oh dear. I've used 'solutions' in my new personal campaign. I 'spose it better to be the solution than the problem ;-)

[rocknbil]

Anywho.

[HelenDev]

Wait, isn't 'troop' a group of soliders?

That's interesting - I used to think it meant a group as well but then when I heard the TV constantly use the term to refer to one individual I became convinced that I must have been mistaken!

[Tastatura]

My pet hate is "like" as used in the UK, presumably originally a synonym for "appeared to be" but now meaningless. "He was like angry", "She was like coming on", "I was like there at the time", etc. Used to be just a teenage thing but now I'm hearing it from adults.

Back in the day you heard it from teenagers but teenagers like grew older, and are adults bow :)

[jsinger]

overused words/phrases of '07?

How about...
swell
23 skidoo
cats pajamas
daddy-o

most of this discussion has been about new words of the past 10 years or more

[jsinger]

My all-time favorite fad word is "swell" which came out of no where around 1930, peaked about 1940 and fell into utter disuse by 1950.

"1) Fashionably elegant; stylish.
2) Excellent; wonderful: had a swell time."

How otherwise intelligent Hollywood "wordsmiths" adored it! Saw a 1940 movie on Turner Classic TV where "swell" was used about 200 times, perhaps marking the exact "epi-center" of its use.

"Dames" were especially "swell" in those days. Ask Bogart and Astaire.

1933 film musical "42nd Street":
"Now go out there and be so SWELL you'll make me hate you."

[HarryM]

1933 film musical "42nd Street"

And of course one of the spin-offs with the same stars: "Dames".

But my all-time favourite has to be Bimbo. Originally indicating a male with more muscle than brains, it managed to cross the gender boundary.

Sorry, that was off-topic, and nothing to do with '07. :)